Japanese Foreign

Japanese shipyards received foreign orders for 21 vessels totaling 581,100 grt in July, down 39.6 percent from a year before, the Japan Ship Exporters' Association reported. Nineteen orders were for bulk carriers and two for freighters, it said.
The statistics include orders association members received for steel vessels of 500 grt or more.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Japan on Saturday seeking to capitalise on his affinity with Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe to strengthen security and business ties on his first major foreign visit since his landslide election victory in May.
Modi is one of only three people that Abe follows on Twitter, while the Indian leader admires the Japanese premier's brand of nationalist politics.
"We will explore how Japan can associate itself productively with my

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda emphasized the importance of Japan's Self-Defense Force (SDF) during his fleet inspection.
PM Yoshihiko Noda considered that the role of the SDF is increasing following emerging territory issues.
Forty-five vessels participated in the event including ships from the United States, Australia and Singapore navies. It was the first participation of foreign ships in the MSDF fleet review since 2002, media reported.

Australian Defence Minister David Johnston will tour a Japanese stealth submarine when he visits Tokyo next week, his Japanese counterpart said on Friday, ahead of talks that could cement an agreement to cooperate in arms development.
"We are planning to show Minister Johnston various military equipment including submarines," Itsunori Onodera told a news conference. "We want to build a more cooperative relationship with Australia."

Japan on Friday froze the assets of the operator of a North Korean ship seized for smuggling arms, the Foreign Ministry said, just as Tokyo is engaged in talks with Pyongyang to return Japanese citizens kidnapped by North Korean agents decades ago.
The sanction against Ocean Maritime Management, which operated the ship detained near the Panama Canal a year ago carrying Soviet-era arms, follows similar steps by the United States and U.N. blacklisting of the North Korean firm in July.

Japan will agree this month to give Australia classified submarine data, an unprecedented step signalling Tokyo's intent to join competitive bidding to sell Canberra a fleet of stealth subs, said two Japanese officials familiar with the plan.
The "competitive assessment" will see Germany's ThyssenKrupp and France's state-controlled naval contractor DCNS separately competing with a Japanese government-led bid for such contractors as Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd and Mitsubishi

Nippon Yusen KK, Japan's biggest shipping company, has upwardly revised its plan to expand its fleet of liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers, a major Japanese financial paper reported Wednesday.
Nippon Yusen's initial business plan called for it to either own or have invested in the construction of about 60 such tankers by fiscal 2010. It has now raised that figure to roughly 80-100 tankers, the Nikkei Shimbun said.

USS Harpers Ferry (LSD 49) completed Transport Exercise (TRANSPORTEX) 2007 with the Japanese Ship (JS) Ohsumi (LST 4001) off the coast of Japan on March 7.
TRANSPORTEX was a training exercise designed to enhance the maritime transport proficiency and interoperability of the U.S. Navy and the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) in support of humanitarian relief missions.
“In the past 15 years, amphibious forces have been the first responders in numerous humanitarian crises

The Senate passed the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2004. Negotiations can now commence to resolve differences between this bill and the version adopted by the House of Representatives some time ago. The major difference between the two bills regards security plans for foreign vessels subject to the ISPS Code. The House bill would, in accordance with language in the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 (MTSA)

Japan’s defense ministry recommends expansion of its marine force and consider a first-strike capability to deal with threats, reports Live Mint/WSJ.
Four Chinese vessels ordered Japanese ships to leave waters around disputed islands known as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan, China’s State Oceanic Administration reported on its website [Chinese] as sourced by Live Mint.
China’s strengthened coast guard began operations on 22 July

Japan will send a high-level delegation to Adelaide for talks on building Australia's next-generation fleet of submarines.
A former commander of the Japanese navy will head a 40-strong delegation to Australia next month to negotiate roles for local industry in building submarines

South Korea has given the go-ahead for cruise ships to operate onboard casinos for foreign guests, , reports the Korea Joongang Daily newspaper.
South Korean cruise vessels voyaging overseas will be able to operate casinos on board – but casino admission will be only for

China and Russia will hold joint naval and air defence drills in the Sea of Japan, China said on Thursday, the latest exercises between the two countries which could concern Japan, involved in a marine dispute with China to the south.
The manoeuvres also come as the United States ramps up

China and Southeast Asian nations have agreed to set up a foreign ministers' hotline to tackle emergencies in the disputed South China Sea, a senior official of the ASEAN grouping told Reuters on Friday.
China claims most of the potentially energy-rich sea

An influential Australian senator has asked Japan to buy components for its Soryu submarines from Australian companies to boost its chances of winning a major contract to supply Canberra with a fleet of submarines.
Independent South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon made the request to submarine

The Japanese-built containership Kamala caught fire around 400km off the coast of the Japanese island of Kuchinoshima in the East China Sea.
The accident happened during a voyage from Gresik, Indonesia to Ulsan, South Korea with 796 containers on board, including hazardous cargo

Singapore state investment company Temasek Holdings has put up its struggling $1.7 billion shipping company for sale, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Neptune Orient Lines Ltd (NOL), 65 percent-owned by Temasek

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. today announced that on July 5, 2015, the MOL-operated bulk carrier Spring Zephyr safely rescued all three survivors clinging to driftwood 165 km east of the island of Mindanao, the Philippines.
Details of the rescue follow:

With foreign steel now commanding nearly 32 percent of the U.S. market, it was inevitable that iron ore cargos hauled in U.S.-flag Great Lakes freighters (lakers) would take a hit, and that hit came in June, the Lake Carriers’ Association (LCA) reported. Cargos totaled 4

GTT, a designer of membrane containment systems for the maritime transportation and storage of liquefied natural gas (LNG), announced it has received a new order in June for one liquefied natural gas carrier (LNGC) vessel to be built by the Japanese shipbuilder Imabari Shipbuilding Co., Ltd

Japan called on China on Tuesday to halt construction of oil-and-gas exploration platforms in the East China Sea close to waters claimed by both nations, concerned that Chinese drills could tap reservoirs that extend into Japanese territory.

Philippine President Benigno S. C. Aquino III has signed off on legislation to open up the shipping sector and encourage more competition in the cloistered industry, report AFP.
He also signed into law a measure that aims to level the country’s playing field

China's Foreign Ministry said on Friday the United States was trying to influence a South China Sea arbitration case filed by the Philippines after a senior U.S. official said China would be obligated to abide by the tribunal's decision.
China has for years insisted that disputes with rival

China said on Friday it had every right to drill in the East China Sea close to waters disputed with Japan, adding that it did not recognise a "unilateral" Japanese median line setting out a boundary between the two in the waters.